EVERY coach dreams of holding an AFL premiership cup aloft.

In 2021, Simon Goodwin did just that.

But the journey to the revered moment in Perth last September was one that challenged Goodwin on a whole new level.

From the highs of a Preliminary Final with a young side in 2018, to the lows of a 17^th placed finish the following year, then a climb back up the ladder through a COVID-19 affected world.

This is a story of adversity, anxiety, resilience and success.

“It’s hard, it’s tough,” Goodwin said, reflecting on the role of coaching.

“You do realise quite quickly it can be quite a lonely, isolating job, full of pressure, full of stress and full of anxiety.

“It took a while to work that out.”

 The first lesson came for Goodwin shortly after the biggest triumph of his young coaching career: two finals victories.

“We hit the 2019 season just not prepared for what the game was going to demand,” he said.

“At that point I knew it was going to be a challenge because we had expectation, we had pressure and we had a supporter base that finally believed in what was possible as a footy club.

“But I also understood that it was going to be really hard to deliver on that expectation.

“When we started to tumble down the ladder and lose games of footy, there was no doubt I started to become more of a recluse, I started to lose the passion for the game.

“It probably didn’t hit me until that press conference when I was standing there talking and trying to answer a question, and I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth.

“At the time I didn’t know what had happened, and when we broke it down it was that I just wasn’t coping with the pressure and the stress and the anxiety that had come over me.

That started with rediscovering his passion, which allowed the rest to fall into place.

“One thing I’d had through 20 years of my football career was I had a real love for the game,” Goodwin said.

“I needed to go away and reflect on how I could get that back and how I could actually start to deal with the pressure and the stress of senior coaching.

“So, I went on a self-discovery process.

“I felt instantly my energy levels pick up.

“I think when I walked back into the club at the start of 2020 the players could feel that as well.”

Having developed as a person in this time, Goodwin was also able to identify areas that would benefit his coaching.

“You go through that personal journey, and you can understand that a lot of players would be in a similar situation,” he said.

“They’re certainly not immune to the stresses and the pressures and the things that come with our industry.

“And to be able to help them and share my personal experience will hopefully build that connection and understanding moving forward.”

Not all stories have the fairy tale ending, but fortunately this one does.

Melbourne went on to break a 57-year premiership drought under Goodwin’s watch, helping him achieve something many considered impossible.

“It wasn’t easy. It was a tough ride. It was a tough challenge – both personally and also as a footy club,” Goodwin said.